“What are you doing here?” LoBak asked in a low whisper. “I heard that you were with Tonglong. Come with me. Hok and Ying are hiding at my shop.”
ShaoShu frowned. “I can't leave. I have to sneak into HaiZhe's warehouse, or Tonglong will kill me.”
LoBak sighed. “You poor thing. You will never get in there without help. Wait here, I'll be back soon.” He grabbed the drinking bowl and left, calling out to the guards, “I will return shortly. Pass the word to War lord HaiZhe about my spill.”
Half an hour later, LoBak returned with a rigid basket strapped to his back and a canteen slung around his neck. He set the basket down next to ShaoShu's evergreen tree and removed the lid, whispering, “Hok and Ying send their greetings. I nearly had to threaten their lives to keep them from coming with me. Hok tells me that you can squeeze into tight spaces. Is this true?”
“Yes.”
“Excellent. When you hear me cough, climb into the very bottom of this basket.”
“Okay.”
LoBak reached into the basket and pulled out a small saw and a large blanket. He carried the items well away from ShaoShu and began to saw a branch from a cypress tree.
“You there, Medicine Man!” a guard shouted from the rooftop. “What do you think you are doing?”
LoBak coughed, and ShaoShu scrambled into the basket headfirst. He heard LoBak say, “I am preparing a special treatment for Warlord HaiZhe using his very own trees. Would you like to come down and help?”
“I cannot, sir,” the guard replied. “I need to remain at my post. Carry on.”
LoBak did carry on. He cut three branches from the tree and carried them back to the basket. ShaoShu was settled in by then, having twisted and squirmed his body into a tight knot, barely taking up any space at the bottom of the basket.
“Amazing,” LoBak whispered.
ShaoShu mumbled, “Thanks,” into his right ankle, which was pressed against his mouth.
LoBak draped the blanket over ShaoShu, set the saw and cypress branches gently on top, and closed the lid. Then he hoisted the basket onto his back, adjusted the canteen around his neck, and walked through the back door, into HaiZhe's secret world.
CHAPTER 14
“Halt!” a voice commanded as soon as LoBak stepped through HaiZhe's back door. “Who goes there?”
Oh, no, ShaoShu thought from the bottom of the basket. Have we been found out already?
“It is the apothecary,” LoBak replied. “I am here to administer Warlord HaiZhe's treatment.”
“You're late,” the guard said. “I'd advise you to watch your step next time. You know how he is about keeping schedules.”
“Yes, sir,” LoBak replied.
ShaoShu felt LoBak begin to walk again, and he shifted his contorted body until he could peer out of a tiny gap in the basket's tightly woven sides. He saw that they were in a wide corridor lit with small oil lanterns similar to the lanterns outside. LoBak weaved through numerous hallways, and they passed two more guard stations before stopping in front of a gigantic mural that stretched as far down the corridor as ShaoShu could see. Thousands of meticulously painted jellyfish swarmed the walls, their swaying limbs stinging everything in their path with emotionless ferocity. His nose twitched. This was a very bad place.
LoBak pressed his hand against a particularly large jellyfish, and a section of the wall swung open. There was no way ShaoShu would have found that alone. He thanked the heavens for LoBak.
“Do you know what time it is?” asked a gruff voice from within the next room.
“Sorry I'm late, sir,” LoBak replied, walking through the opening and closing the secret door behind him. “I sent word, and I hoped that you would be notified. I had to make your preparation twice. Also, I've learned of a new treatment you might want to consider. It took me a while to find just the right elements.”
“I am content with my current treatment,” HaiZhe grumbled.
“I will administer that as well, sir,” LoBak said, knocking against the canteen strung around his neck. “I'll bring it over to you.”
ShaoShu felt LoBak shrug the basket off his back and place it on the floor. From this new angle, ShaoShu had a clear view of HaiZhe sitting behind a large desk. He didn't look like he had any sort of disability, appearing as healthy as any man could. He was perhaps fifty-five years old and had a head full of thick white hair, wide powerful shoulders, and rather large arms. Strapped to each of his upper arms was a holster, and in each holster was a pistol. By ShaoShu's account, none of this added up to the nickname “Jellyfish.”
LoBak placed the canteen on HaiZhe's desk and opened it. HaiZhe took several long drinks of the steaming liquid, then looked over at the basket.